Saxophones
Edgar Winter grew up in a musical family, his older brother being the blues legend Johnny Winter. Edgar played in several of his brother’s bands before forming his own bands, always with a focus on rock and roll. He pioneered the synthesizer in many settings and is the inventor of the keyboard...
Big Jay McNeely was there when the emotions of rhythm and blues gave birth to rock and roll. His honkin' sax style gave raw and bold tones to the feelings behind the R&B and Jump Swing styles of the early 1950’s, all of which played a key role in the popular musical trends that would follow. ...
Fred Davis began playing saxophone as a boy and started his own band, the Freddy Davis Orchestra, which played around Ohio during World War II. He was well equipped with reeds for his gigs as his mother owned a small music store in Marysville, where Fred grew up. After working in his mother's store...
Chuck Surack is the founder and president of Sweetwater Sound, one of the landmark companies within the music products industry. He formed the company in 1979 and worked hard to gather the brands his customers wanted and to provide the care and service he himself would want. Chuck has supported...
Ace Cannon grew up in Mississippi singing with his father on street corners and in church, and he knew even as a small child that he wanted to have a life in music. When he was ten years old his father drove him to Amro Music in Memphis and let him pick out an alto saxophone by CG Conn. Right...
Peter De Luke Sr. taught music in the public school system in New York for over 25 years. His zest for encouraging young students to make music has been a strong focus of Pete’s even after his formal teaching days were over. In addition to his teaching career was a very impressive performance and...
Denny Lawson began learning and playing instrumental music while in college. He soon found he had a great interest in playing music and switched his major to music education. While he was a band director, a music store had an opening on its repair bench and Denny took the job to learn basic...
Bobby Dukoff was a big band saxophone player during the swing era when he looked for ways of improving his own sound. While working for the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Bobby began playing his own mouthpiece, which showcased his style. Soon other musicians were asking for the mouthpiece and the Bobby...
Craig Richard is a professional saxophonist who has played with the likes of Kenny G and was hired by Bobby Dukoff Mouthpiece Company’s president, Nic Hernandez, as product specialist. Within that role Craig studies the many mouthpieces both past and present to determine sound quality. He plays...
Jeanne Dukoff married the swing saxophonist and mouthpiece maker Bobby Dukoff. Bobby suffered a stroke just before his scheduled NAMM Oral History interview and in true “Bobby Dukoff Spirit” Mrs. Dukoff rose to the occasion, sitting alongside her husband and answering the questions for him. Sadly...